The City has taken a comprehensive and integrated approach to addressing homelessness that includes working with the County, agencies, nonprofits, and other organizations that provide services to address homelessness and provide affordable housing.
These efforts include understanding the resources needed to help those experiencing homelessness, implementing programs and services that help individuals and families move out of homelessness, identify what future funding/resources are needed for employing additional strategies that may further improve the homelessness issues facing the community, and analyzing the effectiveness of these efforts to ensure the programs and services are meeting the intended outcomes.
An important element of these efforts includes Roseville Police Department’s solution-focused approach offering outreach, intervention and re-integration when possible. The department has implemented a Social Services Unit (SSU), which is a Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) Unit to head this effort.
SSU consists of two full-time POP Officers, a practitioner, multiple embedded county liaisons and one full-time Sergeant. Individuals who are at high risk with mental health needs, substance use, or chronic offenders, are often referred to SSU.
The goal of SSU is to proactively address various issues in our community through innovation, collaboration, and solution-focused policing methods, while striving for long-term and meaningful results. SSU uses a blended model of enforcement and services to create impactful results throughout the community. This blended approach of enforcement and services is offered by active outreach, officer prevention, officer intervention, and re-integration.
The Roseville Housing Authority (RHA) provides important social services to Roseville and Rocklin residents to ensure safe and affordable housing for residents. Through monthly rental assistance payments, the Housing Choice Voucher Program invests over $6.2 million into the local rental economy annually.
With the addition of 50 Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs) in 2021, the Roseville Housing Authority currently has authorization to lease up to 795 vouchers. Special vouchers currently equal 158 EHVs, HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing and Mainstream vouchers and must serve those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
The Parks, Recreation & Libraries Department also has an active role in managing some of the impacts of homelessness such as camp cleanup, vandalism, customer service response and public outreach. The department has established four (4) Priority Levels for encampments ranging from Priority 1 (highest priority), when encampments pose imminent threats to safety or infrastructure and must be immediately resolved, to Priority 4 (lowest priority), where City staff work, in collaboration with local partners, to monitor the encampment to ensure the safety of the inhabitants and the community at large. There are also indirect impacts the department manages which affect our libraries, parks, community centers, open spaces and environment.
The City is also actively engaged with the County and their efforts to address homelessness to ensure there is effective collaboration and implementation of resources. These efforts have resulted in the development of numerous programs and alliances resulting in connecting those experiencing homelessness with services and organizations that can help them navigate into housing and provide support that may be needed to overcome other existing challenges.
Furthermore, the City, County and other cities in South Placer are working collectively to discuss the challenging issues regarding homelessness and to identify solutions that can be applied to reduce homelessness in our communities.
Please call the Roseville Police non-emergency line at 916-774-5000 to report issues you are concerned about involving homelessness in Roseville.
The information reported helps the City not only to respond but also to track data and gauge the magnitude and types of issues related to homelessness and its effect on individuals and the community. This allows us to more effectively coordinate resources with other city departments, government agencies, and non-profits to address the needs in our city.
Once a concern or complaint has been received, the City will investigate. This may involve sending out the Social Services Unit (SSU), which comprises police officers, code enforcement inspectors, and social workers trained in addressing such encampments and those living there. The City will determine whether, under the law discussed above, any action can be taken and by whom. If the City determines that enforcement action can be taken, the appropriate personnel will respond consistent with best practices.
If enforcement action cannot be taken, the City will still attempt to engage with anyone at the encampment and offer services they may be eligible for that may result in ending their cycle of homelessness. Even if an encampment cannot be removed by enforcement, the City still attempts to resolve the issues created by the encampment through contact with those present there and repetition of offering services.
Please understand that due to the laws surrounding this issue, this process often does not yield immediate results. It could take multiple interactions to resolve the issues. It doesn’t mean work isn’t being done with the goal of ultimately resolving the issue.
Often we receive complaints from citizens related to homeless encampments that are actually located on private property (either because the private property owner is absentee or because they are allowing the activity). Our SSU and City Attorney’s Office works closely with the private property owners in these situations to address any issues, but it will ultimately require the private property owner to act, as the City will not enter onto private property to address any issues without the property owner’s consent.
Most business owners fall into the private property rule above and can remove individuals from their property who are illegally trespassing. Often times the Roseville Police Department will receive a call from a manager or employee of a business asking for assistance.
A problem develops when that manager or employee does not have authority from the property owner/business owner to request assistance with a trespass. Since trespass is a private enforcement tool (meaning the business owner or property owner is the only person who can ask law enforce to enforce it), if the property/business owner does not provide authorization to law enforcement, there is little law enforcement can do.
The Roseville Police Department allows private property/business owners to provide certain statutorily allowed advanced authorizations to the Roseville Police Department to enforce trespass.
If you are a business owner who would like to learn what you can do to prevent trespasses at your business, please contact the City at egov@roseville.ca.us.
Generally, in the City of Roseville, concerns or complaints regarding an encampment occupied by persons experiencing homelessness should be directed as follows:
- Concerns or complaints regarding encampments located on City of Roseville public property (i.e. City parks, bike trails, open space, City owned property, etc.) should be directed to the Roseville Police Department at (916) 774-5000 (non-emergency) or online here.
- Concerns or complaints regarding encampments located on Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) property should be directed to UPRR police at (888) 877-7267.
- Reports of criminal activity—which does not include encampments on public property—should be directed to the Roseville Police Department at (916)774-5000 (non-emergency) or online here.
- Reports of an emergency should be directed to 911.
No. Persons experiencing homelessness who use vehicles as shelter are subject to the same traffic laws and parking regulations as the owners and operators of all other vehicles. For instance, motor vehicles must be operable and currently registered with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (please note: under State law, vehicles cannot be towed for expired registration alone, unless it has been more than six (6) months expired).
A person experiencing homelessness who uses a vehicle as shelter is not legally entitled to occupy the same public parking place indefinitely. Roseville Municipal Code section provides that any vehicle parked or left standing on a public street or public parking facility for 72 hours or more may be towed.
In order to comply with State law, the 72 hour period must be independently measured by the City of Roseville. This means the City of Roseville is required to independently verify the 72 hour period and to issue required notices. Often citizen’s will call and report a vehicle has been parked for more than 72 hours (sometimes they have video or photos documenting it) and expect it to be towed upon the reporting. Since the City of Roseville must independently verify and provide notice, the City of Roseville must log the location of the vehicle and re-check after 72 hours. This practically means that a vehicle may end up being parked for more than 72 hours before action can be taken.
Inquires or complaints regarding vehicles occupied by persons experiencing homelessness should be directed to the Roseville Police Department at (916)774-5000 (non-emergency).
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